Technical Field
This invention relates to alert device systems. In particular, embodiments of the invention relate to a system comprising devices and a method of use for alerting hearing-impaired and other persons using pulsed vibration of a building structure transmitted from an installed alert device.
State of the Art
Conventional smoke detectors are representative of alert devices. To be effective in minimizing injuries and death for deaf and severely hearing impaired persons, however, a system of alert devices, such as smoke detectors, must 1) be functional; and 2) provide a non-auditory alert.
A reliably functioning system of smoke detectors in a home or commercial building saves lives. In the U.S., many states require smoke alarms/detectors in both residential and commercial buildings, particularly in new construction. Current smoke detector alarm systems vary in the manner through which the individual detectors are interconnected and powered. Most commonly, smoke detectors are wired into an isolated alternating current (“AC”) power circuit (“dedicated circuit”) in a residential or commercial building to provide a reliable, continuous source of power. In the event of a power failure wherein the dedicated circuit is no longer energized with an external current from a remote AC power source, a conventional DC battery within each detector provides backup power to the device. This generally works fine, unless these backup-power batteries fail or are disconnected. According to the National Fire Protection Association (“NFPA”), almost two-thirds of home fire deaths from 200-2009 resulted from fires in homes without smoke detector alarms or in homes where smoke detector alarms were non-functioning. The NFPA reports that eighty percent of smoke alarm failures during this period arose from a missing or disconnected battery, dead or discharged battery, or line AC power failure/shut-off/disconnect. When the voltage of a backup direct current (“DC”) battery in an individual smoke detector weakens, a typical detector emits an audible alarm consisting of regular, loud beeps or chirps, alerting the building's occupant to replace the old, discharged battery with a fresh one.
Audible alarms, however, are ineffective in providing an alert to a deaf or severely hearing-impaired person. Currently, the NFPA notes that smoke alarms utilizing an alternative alert means are available for use by deaf and severely impaired persons. Those means include strobe lights and vibration notification appliances, such as pillow or bed shakers that are physically separate from the smoke detector and are activated by the sound of the alarm emanating from the smoke detector.
Problems exist with these currently available systems. For example, a visual alert, such as strobe lights, requires the person's face to be turned toward the light and uncovered. Many people sleep on their sides, face-down, or with their face shielded by the bedcovers or pillows. Even so, a person facing in the general direction of a strobe or similar visual alert who is deeply asleep may not be awakened by the light of the visual alert. Some severely hearing-impaired persons are also sight-impaired, and cannot see or respond to a visual alert. Vibration or “shaking” alert systems are better. Existing systems, however, require separate devices connected to the bed, pillow, etc. A vibration alert system requiring separate devices fails with the failure of the separate device, such as when battery power is not available to the device, the device is not turned on, the device is plugged in but AC power is interrupted, the hearing-impaired person is asleep in a chair, sofa, or other location than a bed or other piece of furniture directly attached to the vibration alert device. Additionally, currently available vibration-based alert devices for the hearing impaired merely alert the hearing-impaired person that an emergency exists and do not provide any information as to the nature of the emergency or instructions to the hearing-impaired person. For example, when a sleeping hearing-impaired person is awakened by a vibrational alert, that person may quickly dress and exit the building, thinking the building is on fire. In fact, other emergencies occur wherein to be safe, the person should remain in the building—like a tornado warning, street rioting, or the like.
Accordingly, what is needed is a alert device that simultaneously: 1) provides a backup power source to an existing interconnected system of detection and alert devices in a residence or commercial building; 2) monitors the functionality of each individual emergency detection and alert device; 3) generates an alert that will awaken any person, including a sight or hearing-impaired person; and 4) communicates the situational nature of the alert to the person.